A decades-old story claiming that Amrish Puri slapped Govinda for arriving nine hours late on a film set has resurfaced, with the veteran actor’s son Rajiv Puri now denying that the incident ever took place. Rajiv insisted such behaviour would have been completely out of character for his father.
Amrish Puri’s son denies the Govinda slap story
Appearing on Vickey Lalwani’s podcast, Rajiv Puri was asked about the popular claim that Amrish lost his temper with Govinda after waiting hours for him on set. According to the widely circulated version, the veteran actor arrived for a 9 am shoot while Govinda reportedly turned up around 6 pm, leading to a confrontation that allegedly ended with a slap in front of the unit. Rajiv firmly rejected this account. He said, “I don’t think that is true. He was never the type to lose his temper. He never lost his temper like that.” Describing his father’s temperament, Rajiv added, “He would raise his voice only after somebody irritated him twice or thrice, but otherwise, I don’t think he would have ever slapped anyone. That is not true.”He also revealed he had come across the story before but never took it seriously. He shared, “I have also heard and read about it, but it is not significant enough for me to think about, as I know that Daddy would never do something like that.”
Why Govinda and Amrish Puri may not have worked again
While denying the slap story, Rajiv Puri admitted that Govinda’s reputation for being late could have impacted their professional relationship. He said, “Because of that, perhaps Govinda did not work with Daddy in the future. Maybe he understood that coming late would not work with him, and perhaps that is why he did not work with him again.”However, he ruled out any lingering resentment from his father’s side, adding, “But I don’t think Daddy held any grudges over such things.“Amrish Puri and Govinda starred together in ‘Do Qaidi’ (1989), widely reported to be their last film together.Amrish Puri remains one of Indian cinema‘s most celebrated actors, remembered for iconic roles in ‘Mr India’, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, ‘Virasat’, and several other acclaimed films. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 72.
